New Delhi: The Union government will shortly send the department of pharmaceutical’s Research & Development scheme (R&D) scheme for the Union Cabinet’s approval. The scheme—Promotion of Research and Development and Innovation in the pharma-medtech sector—was announced by the Union finance minister on 1 February in her budget speech.
The proposal was considered in the Empowered Technical Group (ETG) meeting and has been sent to the minister of chemical and fertilizer Mansukh Mandaviya. Post his approval it will be sent to the Cabinet Secretariat for placing before the cabinet.
The Union government has kept an overall outlay of ₹5,000 crore for a period of 5 years, i.e., from 2023-24 to 2027-28.
Despite India is known for its supplies of accessible and affordable generic drugs to the world, the expenditure in research and development particularly in the pharma sector is very low.
The R&D sector accounts for only 7% of the overall expenditure by the Indian pharma industry, compared to over 35% spending in R&D in the developed countries.
Therefore, the Union government is giving special attention to R&D in the sector and urging the pharma giants to invest in R&D as a priority. This will further help in achieving new breakthroughs in communicable and non-communicable diseases.
Beside this, the department also plans to establish R&D facilities in select Indian Council of Medical Research labs which will be made available for research by public and private medical college faculty, private sector research teams.
Sudarshan Jain, Secretary General, Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance said, “Research and development is fundamental for the growth of pharma industry, and we will support the government in every step. Around two-third of the industry is innovation category and R&D scheme will boost up the value chain.”
Another expert said that research is a costly affair and high-risk activity. It takes 8-10 years to develop a product and even then, the outcome is not certain. Notably, the government has recognized this and will now boost product research and innovation through centres of excellence.
